First pick
Phoenix Park
Park or garden
704 ha93.1 km of path
20 h 40 minto walk all 93.1 km of path
1.8 km south-westfrom the centre
Khyber RoadTinkler's PathKaziranga Forest Trail+2 paths
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: National Library of Ireland on The Commons · Public domain100%near a park
Outdoors in Ashtown · parks, paths & countryside
Ashtown has more park space per resident than 9 in 10 Irish towns
There are 53.7 ha of parks and playing fields for every 1,000 people in Ashtown, against 4.1 in the typical Irish town. Footpaths add up to 78 km in the neighbourhood and the kilometre around it, 6.3 for every square kilometre. Wicklow Mountains National Park begins 13 km away.
Near a park
100%
of residents within 400 m
Typical Irish town: 92%
Green space
53.7 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical Irish town: 4.1 ha
Footpaths
78 km
6.3 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical Irish town: 2.1 km per km²
Woodland
6.9%
of the town and 1 km around it
Typical Irish town: 2.7%
Character
What kind of outdoors neighbourhood is Ashtown?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
Room to roam53.7 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents, more than 97% of Irish towns.A park on every doorstep100% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.A neighbourhood of footpaths6.3 km of path per km², more than 85% of Irish towns. The typical town has 2.1.Countryside close byWicklow Mountains National Park starts 13 km south.
Ashtown’s strongest suit is plenty of park space, followed by parks close to every home.
Against other towns
How Ashtown compares with Irish towns
Each figure against Ireland’s 321 towns and city neighbourhoods of 2,500+ (city hubs left out): the marked bar is the town’s, the line the median. Ireland has no Outdoors Grade yet: the figures are described, each against other Irish towns, and none of them counts towards the overall grade.
A park within a walk100%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
83out of 100
Public green space53.7 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
98out of 100
Footpaths6.3 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
85out of 100
Protected for nature0%of the land within 5 km
11out of 100
Woodland6.9%of the town and 1 km around it, as mapped
83out of 100
Parks, paths and woods: OpenStreetMap; residents: CSO Census 2022 Small Areas; protected sites: NPWS; sea: CSO and ONS land outlines. A 0 means nothing is mapped.
Towns its size
Ashtown has the 6th most footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (12,816 to 17,508 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Tallaght (8.8 km per km²) to Mallow (0.6 km per km²).
Footpath, km per km²
Ashtown6.3
Towns its size3.7
Co. Dublin towns5.4
Typical Irish town2.1
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Ashtown53.7
Towns its size4.6
Co. Dublin towns7.6
Typical Irish town4.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Ashtown100%
Towns its size96%
Co. Dublin towns100%
Typical Irish town92%
Against towns its size, Ashtown stands out most for park space per resident: only 1 of the other 39 has more.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | The sea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tallaght Dublin | 8.8 | 3.8% | 0.6% | – |
| 2 | Cabra East Dublin | 8 | 2.2% | 0% | – |
| 3 | Deansrath Dublin | 7.9 | 2.2% | 0% | – |
| 4 | Ballyowen Dublin | 7.5 | 6% | 0% | – |
| 5 | Fettercairn Dublin | 7 | 3.5% | 0.4% | – |
| 6 | Ashtown Dublin | 6.3 | 6.9% | 0% | – |
| 7 | Ballinteer Dublin | 6.2 | 7.1% | 2.8% | – |
| 8 | Dundrum Dublin | 6.2 | 4.7% | 1.3% | 6.7% |
| 9 | Clonskeagh Dublin | 6 | 2.7% | 0.1% | 16% |
| 10 | Rathmines East Dublin | 5.9 | 2.3% | 0.1% | 13% |
| 11 | Knocklyon Dublin | 5.8 | 4.7% | 3.2% | – |
| 12 | Whitehall Dublin | 5.6 | 2.6% | 0.3% | – |
| 13 | Rathfarnham Dublin | 5.5 | 4.8% | 0.1% | – |
| 14 | Cabinteely Dublin | 5.1 | 7.6% | 1.1% | 29% |
| 15 | Sallynoggin Dublin | 5 | 2% | 0.3% | 47% |
| 16 | Blackrock Dublin | 4.7 | 1.4% | 0.2% | 30% |
| 17 | Kimmage Dublin | 4.3 | 0.1% | 0% | – |
| 18 | Ongar Dublin | 4.2 | 2.7% | 0.2% | – |
| 19 | East Wall Dublin | 4.1 | 1% | 3.5% | 27% |
| 20 | Belmayne Dublin | 3.8 | 1.9% | 5.2% | 25% |
| 21 | Maynooth Kildare | 3.7 | 3.9% | 0.5% | – |
| 22 | Mahon Cork | 3.6 | 6.1% | 5.3% | – |
| 23 | Leixlip Kildare | 3.6 | 7.7% | 0.5% | – |
| 24 | Hollystown Dublin | 3.3 | 2% | 0% | – |
| 25 | Clontarf West Dublin | 3.2 | 2.2% | 3.5% | 17% |
| 26 | Bishopstown Cork | 3.2 | 6% | 0.2% | – |
| 27 | Corbally and King's Island Limerick | 3 | 3.7% | 9.5% | – |
| 28 | Darndale Dublin | 2.7 | 1.9% | 3.7% | 11% |
| 29 | Castletroy Limerick | 2.4 | 1.8% | 6.6% | – |
| 30 | Ashbourne Meath | 1.6 | 0.3% | 0% | – |
| 31 | Midleton Cork | 1.6 | 2.6% | 4.5% | – |
| 32 | Ballybane Galway | 1.5 | 3.9% | 12% | 15% |
| 33 | Killarney Kerry | 1.3 | 14% | 34% | – |
| 34 | Laytown-Bettystown-Mornington-Donacarney Meath | 1.2 | 0.5% | 4.4% | 39% |
| 35 | Wicklow Wicklow | 1.1 | 0.9% | 4.3% | 38% |
| 36 | Castlebar Mayo | 1 | 3.1% | 2.3% | – |
| 37 | Cobh Cork | 0.8 | 3.5% | 13% | 23% |
| 38 | Tullamore Offaly | 0.7 | 10% | 3.8% | – |
| 39 | Arklow Wicklow | 0.7 | 5.7% | 0.3% | 34% |
| 40 | Mallow Cork | 0.6 | 5.1% | 3.2% | – |
The map
Parks, woods, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Ashtown’s neighbourhood.
Green: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces and woods, named or not.© OpenStreetMap contributors · NPWS · Sport Ireland · CSO
Places to walk
Parks to walk in, in and around Ashtown
The biggest is Phoenix Park, 704 ha (1,739 acres).
All 7 named parks and woods by size: 783 ha (1,935 acres) and 109 km of path
Parks & gardens 783 ha
The two biggest, Phoenix Park and Tolka Valley Park, are 97% of the named green space and carry 104 km of path between them.
Tolka Valley Park
Park or garden
56 ha11.3 km of path
2 h 30 minto walk all 11.3 km of path
1.3 km north-eastfrom the centre
Tolka Greenway
Directionsto a point inside
John Paul II Park
Park or garden
7.7 ha1.2 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.2 km of path
0.9 km south-eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Martin Savage Park
Park or garden
8.4 ha0.8 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.8 km of path
0.7 km westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Ashington Park
Park or garden
4.9 ha1.3 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.3 km of path
Centralin the middle of Ashtown
Directionsto a point inside
Crescent Park
Park or garden
1.5 ha0.7 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.7 km of path
Centralin the middle of Ashtown
Directionsto a point inside
Walled Garden
Park or garden · 370 m outside town
0.8 ha0.5 km of path
1.3 km south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Named parks, gardens, commons and woods in the town or within 400 m of it, from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); pieces of one name that touch are one place. Sizes are the whole site; directions go to a point inside.
Close to home
Everyone in Ashtown lives within a 5-minute walk of a park
Each square is 1 in 100 residents: green lives within 400 m of a public park, garden or playing field (CSO Census 2022 Small Areas against OpenStreetMap).
Within 400 m (100%)Further (0%)
Ashtown100%
Co. Dublin towns100%
Typical Irish town92%
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
Protected areas
South Dublin Bay and River Tolka Estuary SPA is the nearest protected area, 5.0 km away
Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas and Natural Heritage Areas designated by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, within 5 km of the town’s edge.
Inside Ashtown0%
Within 5 km0%
Co. Dublin towns0.2%
Typical Irish town1.8%
One protected site lies within 5 km of Ashtown. Proposed Natural Heritage Areas cover 1.4% of the land within 5 km as well; many have been proposed since 1995 and aren’t counted here. Ireland’s National Parks have a block of their own on this page; much of their land also lies inside these sites.
South Dublin Bay and River Tolka Estuary SPASpecial Protection Area (birds) · 22 km² · 5.0 km from the edge
NPWS pageProtected sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service designated site boundaries (CC BY 4.0), 2026; land within 5 km from CSO Small Areas and, over the border, ONS. Overlapping sites are counted once.
National Parks
Wicklow Mountains National Park is 13 km away
Ireland’s National Parks within 100 km, and the nearest always, by direction and distance from the town’s edge; circle size shows each park’s area.
National ParkThe 5 km around the town
National Park
Wicklow Mountains National Park
13 km south223 km²
National Park boundaries: National Parks and Wildlife Service, generalised to 50 m (CC BY 4.0, © Government of Ireland), 2022. Distances from the town’s outline (CSO Small Areas).
Footpaths and woods
78 km of footpaths cross Ashtown
Footways that aren’t pavements, paths, bridleways, steps and tracks open on foot, and mapped woods and forest, in the town and 1 km around it, each beside the county’s and Ireland’s typical town of 2,500+.
Footpaths
78 km
over 12.4 km² of town and the 1 km around it
Woodland
6.9%
about 0.9 km² of mapped woods
Registered trails
5
walking trails within 5 km
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
AshtownCo. Dublin townsTypical Irish town
Footpaths6.3
048 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
AshtownCo. Dublin townsTypical Irish town
Woodland6.9%
0%50%100%
Ashtown has more footpath per km² than 85% of Irish towns and more woodland than 83% of Irish towns.
Footpaths and woods: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Woods are mapped cover, private and Coillte forests included.
Footpaths & trails
Ashtown is on the National Famine Way
78 km of footpaths are mapped in Ashtown and the kilometre around it, 6.3 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
Long-distance wayGreenway
National Famine Way168.6 km
Royal Canal Way146.3 km
Royal Canal Greenway - Drumcondra - Ashtown - Castleknock8.9 km
Royal Canal Greenway Walking Trail121.4 km
Grand Canal Way117.1 km
The National Famine Way (169 km end to end) passes through Ashtown. One cycling or paddling trail also starts within 5 km.
One more waymarked walk on OpenStreetMap
National
The Royal Canal Way6.5 km
Trails: Sport Ireland National Trails Register (CC BY 4.0), registered trails within 5 km; footpaths: OpenStreetMap (ODbL). More waymarked walks: OpenStreetMap route relations (ODbL) within 2 km, those already on the register left out. Coillte’s own forest trails and recreation sites aren’t included: Coillte’s terms limit its data to research or private study. Its trails on the National Trails Register are listed.
When to get out
The best walking months in Ashtown: May to September
Met Éireann’s 1991–2020 averages for the town’s 1 km square and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 15 to 30 °C and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 8.0 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.9 | 17.0 | 16.5 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 63 | 54 | 53 | 54 | 57 | 66 | 62 | 72 | 65 | 78 | 85 | 75 |
March is the driest month (53 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 7.5 hours of daylight in December, and 85 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. The climate in Ashtown →
Things to do
27 playgrounds
Mapped on OpenStreetMap in the town and 2 km around it; each count per resident beside Irish towns’ typical town of 2,500+. Beaches are on the coast’s list, from the EPA.
Every named place, with directions
Picnic sites 8
Plus 8 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 27
Hamilton Gardens Public Playground0.8 km from town
DirectionsPlay Forest0.8 km from town
DirectionsPlus 25 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks 1
Bark Park1.8 km from town
DirectionsSlipways 1
Plus 1 slipway without a name on the map.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Unnamed places are counted, not listed.
Gardens & nature
6 gardens and nature sites to visit near Ashtown
Gardens, national parks, nature sites and islands within 15 km of the town’s edge, each with its own page.
War Memorial GardensGarden · 1.9 km from town
Its pageNational Botanic GardensGarden · 2.0 km from town
Its pageSaint Stephen's GreenGarden · 4.2 km from town
Its pageIveagh GardensGarden · 4.3 km from town
Its pageMerrion SquareGarden · 4.3 km from town
Its pageSaint Anne's ParkGarden · 8.1 km from town
Its pagePlaces to visit: Fáilte Ireland open data (CC BY 4.0), OpenStreetMap and Wikidata.
Next door
Next to Ashtown
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
Cabra WestFinglas SouthCastleknockCabra EastFinglas NorthBallygallAshtown
Under 1%1–10%10–25%25–50%50%+
| Town | Near a park | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Paths (km/km²) | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashtown | 100% | 53.7 | 6.3 | 0% |
| Cabra West 1.4 km | 98% | 80.8 | 7.8 | 0% |
| Finglas South 1.4 km | 100% | 7.3 | 5.6 | 0% |
| Castleknock 2.3 km | 100% | 117.7 | 6.2 | 0% |
| Cabra East 2.4 km | 91% | 56.9 | 8.0 | 0% |
| Finglas North 2.5 km | 98% | 4.4 | 4.2 | 0% |
| Ballygall 2.6 km | 100% | 9.9 | 6.3 | 0% |
None of the neighbours has many more of its people near a park than Ashtown. Castleknock has at least twice Ashtown’s green space per resident.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Green space nearby. The share of residents (CSO Small Areas, by where people live) within 400 m of a park, garden, common or playing field mapped on OpenStreetMap. Mapping is uneven: a town whose parks nobody has mapped looks greyer than it is.
- Protected areas. Land in a Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area or Natural Heritage Area within 5 km, overlaps counted once. Protected for nature doesn’t always mean open to walkers.
- Footpaths and hiking routes. Footways that aren’t pavements, paths, bridleways, steps and tracks open on foot, in the town and 1 km around it, from OpenStreetMap. Trails are the registered ones within 5 km; a trail often follows mapped paths, so the two aren’t added.
- Woodland. Woods and forest as OpenStreetMap maps them, private and Coillte forests included: mapped cover, not access.
- No grade yet. Ireland’s grades don’t include the outdoors yet: these figures describe the town and stand beside the median Irish town.
Questions about the outdoors in Ashtown
What is the biggest park in Ashtown?
Phoenix Park, 704 ha (1,739 acres). Tolka Valley Park (56 ha) is second. 8 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the neighbourhood or within 400 m of it.
Is there protected countryside near Ashtown?
One protected site lies within 5 km, though it covers under 1% of the land. The nearest is South Dublin Bay and River Tolka Estuary SPA, 5.0 km from the edge of town.
What are the best walks near Ashtown?
5 waymarked trails start within 5 km, including the National Famine Way, Royal Canal Way and Royal Canal Greenway - Drumcondra - Ashtown - Castleknock.
How many people in Ashtown live near a park?
100% of residents live within 400 m, about a 5-minute walk, of a park or playing field; in the typical Irish town it is 92%.
When is the best time of year for walking in Ashtown?
On the town’s 1991–2020 averages and its daylight: May to September, when days are long, highs reach 15 °C and rain is light for the place.
Is Ashtown near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Wicklow Mountains National Park, 13 km south of the town’s edge; it covers about 223 km².
What is there to do outdoors around Ashtown?
Within 2 km, OpenStreetMap maps 8 picnic sites; the named ones are listed under Things to do, with directions.
Sources
Where Ashtown’s outdoors figures come from
- Parks, woods and paths. OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL): parks, woods and footpaths, Geofabrik extract, October 2026
- Protected sites. National Parks and Wildlife Service: designated sites (SAC, SPA, NHA), 2026
- Trails. Sport Ireland: National Trails Register, 2026
- Residents. CSO: Census 2022 Small Areas (residents)
- National Parks. National Parks and Wildlife Service: National Park boundaries, generalised to 50 m (CC BY 4.0), 2022
- Things to do. OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL): viewpoints, hills, waterfalls, nature reserves, picnic sites, playgrounds, campsites and waymarked walks, Geofabrik extract, October 2026
- Weather. Met Éireann: 1991–2020 averages (Copyright Met Éireann)
Protected sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service (CC BY 4.0). Trails: Sport Ireland National Trails Register (CC BY 4.0). Bathing water: EPA (CC BY 4.0). Parks, woods and paths: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Not on this page yet: Coillte’s forest trails (its terms) and bike routes.
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).